Mother, Dear
by xYaoiGirlx
Summary: [KaiRei] Rei's feeling alone in the world, so with some persuasion from Kai, he now has a lover.  But with Takao and Max moving in, Rei gets to play mother hen all over again.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: I don't own Beyblade; I'm simply using the characters for my and my muse's entertainment.

Mother, Dear by Yaoi Girl

Rei sighed, growing ever impatient with the pancakes that seemed as though they didn't want to turn brown in his skillet.

"Breakfast ready yet?" came a voice from another room in the house.

"No…" he mumbled loudly and angrily enough for the other to hear. "If you're so hungry, why don't you get in here and help?"

With this, Kai poked his head around the edge of the kitchen archway, smirking.

"Do you really want me to set the kitchen on fire again?"

Rei glowered at him over his shoulder as he skillfully shifted the pan so the pancake would flip perfectly over to brown on the other side. "I didn't say you had to cook. But you could get the plates and stuff ready."

"If I wanted to do things myself, I wouldn't have moved in with you, now would I?"

The neko-jin gave a heavy, mouth closed, throaty sigh, almost to the point of an irritated growl before he turned back to the stove to flip some bacon.

"Why are you so moody today? Aren't I supposed to be the grouchy one?" Kai said, continuing to smirk as he opened the plate cabinet, grabbing some things before rummaging in another cabinet for some cups.

"I don't know. I just feel very agitated today."

"You really are turning into a woman, aren't you?"

"Haha…"

The boys weren't so much boys anymore as they were young adults, Rei 19 and Kai 20, almost 21, give or take a few weeks.

After a while, blading grew old and too routine, and both sought out a change. At first, he and Kai had gone their separate ways, Max and Takao continuing blading for a short time after them, Kyouju bouncing back and forth between helping his friends blade and helping Max's father at his store.

Rei had moved back to China but bought his own place, even after his mother begged and pleaded with him that he wasn't ready to be out on his own at such a young age. But then again, she did the same thing when he went off to become a world champion beyblader.

He had gotten himself a part time job, just for fun, at a local restaurant as a waiter. He really didn't have to worry about money anytime soon, seeing as much as he had acquired from blading years ago. And then Kai had called last year.

It was late at night when he received the call. It seemed that things weren't going so well wherever he was and wanted a place to crash for a while. He even offered to help pay utilities and whatever else Rei may have needed while he stayed. Of course, Rei couldn't take any money from him. He didn't need it. And besides, he was always there to help out an old friend.

But it seemed that Kai had gotten attached to Rei's place. And so they made arrangements for Kai to simply move in.

Rei continued with his waiter position, but Kai chose not to work at all, instead sleeping late into the day, cleaning things around the house, and watching TV. It's not like either of them had anything better to do. With all the money they had, they didn't need to go to college to become anything fancy with high paying jobs.

But now they were looking to have two temporary roomies. Of course, Kai had refused to let the one into his house, seeing as they would have to go food shopping everyday, but he agreed to let the other stay. Rei admonished him, pulled the 'I bought this place, so what I say goes' card and allowed both to stay for however long they needed to.

And of course the downside to all this was that there were only two bedrooms in the house. One was Rei's and the other was Kai's. But with Takao and Max moving in, they'd have to do some switching around, which meant that Kai and Rei would have to share a room and a bed until the other two found another place.

Takao and Max were due the next day and Kai had just a few more things to move to Rei's room and the storage room, which was only a walk-in closet already half full of whatever Rei had tucked away in there.

Rei had since finished his pancakes and set them on plates for him and Kai, filling their cups with milk soon after, finally sitting down and setting the plate of bacon between them.

"I think it's a sin for someone to cook breakfast as well as you do," Kai said after finishing his first bite of pancakes.

Ever since Kai had moved in, he became more vocal and ten times cockier, not to mention sarcastic.

"They're pancakes from mix. You just add water. Even you couldn't mess those up," Rei said, face blank.

"You really don't know how to take compliments, do you? And yes, I could mess them up. I would have homemade lava rocks or your kitchen would be on fire yet again."

Yes, it was a fact that Kai had, not once, but twice set the kitchen on fire while trying to surprise Rei with dinner. After that, he was banned from using anything other than the microwave and toaster while cooking.

They finished breakfast and Rei had perked up a little bit. Kai had found out that his mood was from not having any coffee that morning, seeing as he had run out the day before. Which meant that they got to go food shopping today. And with Takao coming, that meant lots of extra food shopping.

"I'm gonna take a shower, so be ready by the time I'm done, 'kay?" Rei said as he rinsed off the dishes and set them in the sink to wash later.

Kai nodded around his chugging of milk and waved him off.

Rei felt bad for being so edgy this morning, but really, not even enough grounds for one cup of coffee? 'I really need to cut back,' he mused as he unbraided his hair that he had done up the night before, goose bumps forming on his skin as his hair cascaded and caressed his bare form.

He stood there, looking at himself from the waist up in the mirror over the sink, which was already starting to collect fog on the edge of the corners seeing as he had already turned on the taps so the water was nice and cozy for him.

The neko-jin then looked at his own sad face, studying it carefully. Every time he looked in any mirror with his hair down, he always got the urge to cut it. He hated looking so feminine, but he was proud of his raven locks and always had been. But he figured that cutting it was the only way to attract someone of the opposite sex. He had always been hit on by guys all his life because of the way he looked. He was sick of it.

Closing his amber eyes, he turned to the shower, moving the curtain aside just enough and stepping inside, letting the falling water wet his long silky bangs which then became plastered to his face.

He was so lonely. This was the only time he could express his loneliness. He didn't dare do it in front of Kai for fear that the other would tease him or brag about how many girlfriends he's had.

There came a slight knock on the bathroom door before it slowly creaked open.

"You in the shower yet?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I need to tame my fro, that's why," he smirked as he entered the steam filled room and closed the door behind him. And he couldn't help but stare at Rei's gorgeous shadowy form from the other side of the shower curtain as the boy began the task of washing his hair. Even after he had finally torn his eyes away, he stared yet again through the mirror as he brushed his ever long blue hair.

About five minutes had passed, and still, Kai lazily continued to brush. And Rei had since turned off the taps and stood in the tub wringing his hair. Kai wasn't going to get caught watching him. He never did when he came into the bathroom to take a leak or brush his hair and whatever else he needed to do in the bathroom.

Boy, was he wrong.

Rei usually tossed his hair back over his shoulder and grabbed the towel from over the top of the shower curtain bar, but nothing like that occurred this time. He simply wrenched the shower curtain back, hair slung over his right shoulder in one giant circular curl from where he had wrung it out. But the most bizarre thing of this odd behavior was that Rei had tears in his eyes.

Kai's brush fell forgotten into the sink as he whirled around, a horrified look in his crimson eyes as his eyes met Rei's.

"I'm loosing it, Kai," he whispered, smiling as best he could. "I need someone to talk to." Rei had no other choice, as much as he didn't want to say a word of anything personal to Kai, but he couldn't hold off until Max got here. He knew he could turn to Max for anything without fear.

The bluenette yanked the towel off the bar and tossed it to drape around Rei's shoulders, drying him slightly before urging him with his hands leading him to get out of the tub. "Put these on at least, then we'll go to the room and talk," he said as he handed Rei his boxers.

Slowly, he pulled them on before falling against Kai's chest in sobs.

"C'mon, let's go," he whispered in the neko-jin's ear as he wrapped an arm around his waist and led him from the bathroom and down the hall.

Rei basically let himself just fall bottom first onto the bed while Kai knelt between his knees, resting his arms on smooth thighs and looking up into tearful amber orbs.

"Now what's this all about?"

"I feel so alone, Kai," he said, hugging himself and letting his slight nails dig a little into his flesh, the towel falling off his shoulders to scrunch up behind him. "I need someone in my life."

"I'm right here, and I don't intend on leaving anytime soon," he soothed.

Rei shook his head. "I mean a lover. Not just a friend. But I'm so feminine with this hair! I don't want women to look at me like I'm weak just because of my hair! I'm tired of guys constantly hitting on me and trying to grope me…"

"Rei, your hair is what makes you you. But since you don't want a guy chasing after you, I'm not going to ask you for you to be my lover."

"Kai…"

"Why do you think I moved in with you in the first place? Do you really believe that it was because I fell in love with your house? Not to say that I've fallen in love with you, but there's just something about you. I need to find out what the something is, Rei. There's a reason that I like you so much, something there that draws me to you."

Rei was silent for a few minutes as Kai smiled gently up to him, their eyes dancing to a rhythm that only they knew.

"Even if I would allow you to be my lover, that flame's going to die out eventually. I don't want to face that day."

"It'll happen even with a woman. You grow tired of them and their constant nagging and whining. You grow tired of them walking all over your heart with another man. Even if she never whines or nags or cheats on you, even if you think you'll be in love with her forever, you'll wake up one day and see just how routine this person has become. How not interesting this person has become. Trust me, Rei, I know this all too well."

"You're only 21, Kai. How would you know? The longest relationship that I can recall you having was eight months."

"That's true," he said as he tilted Rei's now downcast and concealed face up to meet his gaze. "But she broke my heart by cheating on me, in my own place no less. But I know about the rest because that's what happened with my parents. They split up shortly after my 6th birthday because my dad was tired of day in and day out the same routine with my mother and me."

"I'm not willing to give up someone if I fall in love with them. I'll do whatever I can to keep that flame going."

"Then fall in love with me. I told you I'm not going to leave."

"But you will one day. We can't live together forever."

He could tell that Rei was considering his offer. "Let's do this then. You become my lover until the day you find your woman. Once that day comes, I'll leave without a fuss."

"How could you do that to yourself, Kai?"

"What do you mean?"

"How could you imply that you'll be my lover, but you'll let me sleep around with other women until I find the one for me? If you really care for me, you'd want me all to yourself."

"That is what I want, but you don't. I want you to be happy, Rei."

More tears silently ran down the neko-jin's cheeks as he stared at Kai and thought.

'We've been living together for so long now. We know each other so well. So I guess that if I did go through with this, the only thing that will really change is the physical side of our relationship. I mean, we already tell each other everything…' the raven haired teen mused to himself.

The bluenette simply sat there on the floor, one of his hands finding one of Rei's as he gently clasped his fingers around the other's palm. Patiently, he waited.

And his patience was rewarded as Rei slowly wrapped his fingers around Kai's hand.

"I don't want to try finding someone else if I'm with you, Kai. I'm going to stay with you until the flame burns out. If I'm going to be with someone, I'm going to be loyal to that person. And I expect the same from them."

"Consider it done," Kai smiled as he stood and leaned over, resting his forehead to Rei's so they were eye to eye. "I've been loyal to you since the day I moved in, haven't I?"

Rei choked back a sob before closing his eyes and nodding, smiling. He couldn't believe how blind he was sometimes…

"Now get dressed so we can get this shopping over with," he said as he stood fully, urging Rei to stand by pulling up on the hand he had been holding for a while now, to which Rei obliged.

The raven haired teen grabbed his things from the bathroom and got dressed in the bedroom, his hair brush and binder on the bed, not going unnoticed by Kai who scooped up the brush and proceeded to brush it from his spot on the bed as Rei sat down to tie his shoes.

Rei had to admit that it felt rather nice on his scalp to have someone else play with his hair for a change.

After Kai had managed to get Rei's hair into it's binding, he released the white cloth and wrapped his arms around Rei's shoulders from behind, his lips brushing against the neko-jin's ear as he spoke. "You ready?"

Rei simply nodded and turned slightly to face Kai. He figured that it would be at least a little awkward with making this advance in their friendship to lover relationship, but he didn't seem at all phased by Kai's lips gently pressing against his own in that moment. It seemed almost like he had been expecting Kai to do that everyday since he moved in with him.

* * *

I heart this pairing so much!

Anywho, you'll see why it's called "Mother, Dear" in the next chapter...and no, they won't be having kids in this one...XD


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimers: I don't own Beyblade. I'm only using the characters for my and my muse's entertainment.

Thanks to the few people who reviewed!

Mother, Dear by Yaoi Girl

About half an hour after the chaste kiss that Kai had laid upon Rei's beautiful lips, the pair was now in their car heading to the grocery store. Though the car seemed to be filled with a somewhat awkward silence.

Rei would turn his head slightly from the window every so often to look at Kai, opening his mouth as though he would say something only to close it quickly and turn away, flustered.

Kai, however, wore a slightly worried expression, knowing what Rei was doing even as he focused on the road.

"Rei," he finally said, drawing the teen's attention away from the passenger's side window. "If you don't want to do this, I understand. I know you're not exactly gay and entirely sure about all this."

The neko-jin shook his head slightly with a somewhat forced smile. "I've never really considered being with a guy or girl; I just prefer girls because I know, or at least I think I know, what they want from a guy. Maybe it's just me."

"You didn't give me a response to what I said."

Rei sighed. "I want to try. I'm tired of being alone, not to say that I'm desperate. But if you feel a certain way towards me, maybe I'll develop those feelings for you. I won't know until I try, right?"

The bluenette parked the car in the lot of their destination, turning to Rei with a smile. "You ready?"

Rei nodded and the pair got out of the car, heading towards the building, side by side. That is until Kai's hand gently brushed against one of Rei's, who accepted the gesture and twined their fingers together, blushing furiously.

"You act like a school girl with her first boyfriend or something," Kai teased, crimson eyes alight with amusement, Rei didn't comment.

Once inside the building, Rei grabbed a kart and started pushing while the bluenette walked ahead of him a little ways, pulling this and that from shelves, examining it before tossing it into the kart.

"Do you think we'll have enough room for all this food? Even though Takao will devour most of it within a day's time…Not that one, the bottle next to it."

Kai put the incorrect bottle down, eyebrows furrowing as he studied the two bottles, shrugged and picked up the correct one. "We'll manage."

"Can the _car_ hand carrying this much food?" he then laughed.

"We could just leave a trail from the road to the front door that way Takao won't get lost from the cab to the house."

"This is true," the neko-jin agreed as they rounded the corner to another isle of foodstuffs.

Three more isles: canned goods, baking stuff, and cereal before they'd be ready to check out and head home. All the while they made jokes at Takao's expense and brought back old funny memories.

Once they had paid for the groceries and ventured back out to the car, Kai told Rei to get inside the vehicle and start it while he put the bags in the trunk and back seat.

"Don't treat me like a helpless woman!" the amber eyed teen hissed slightly as Kai climbed into the driver's seat a few minutes later.

"You didn't stay out to help though, did you?" he smirked as he shifted the car into gear, backing out and heading towards the lot exit before hitting the road home.

Rei said nothing, opting to stick his tongue out in retaliation.

"But you know you're gonna start back up with your motherly instincts as soon as those two cross the threshold tomorrow."

"What do you mean? I've never been a mother to them."

Kai simply gave him a look that said everything Rei needed to know.

"Okay, so maybe a little. I just can't let people stupidly walk into situations and I can't leave them hanging. And I know I'll go into all out cooking and cleaning mode…"

"Point proven."

Rei smiled. So maybe having a real man around the house wasn't going to be so bad.

"Does that mean your going to kick into father mode?" the neko-jin then laughed, receiving a slight glare. "You call me the woman, and we're together now, so what does that make you if I'm the mother hen?"

"Okay, you've proven your point. But on a serious note, do you even want them to know?"

Rei simply looked at him incredulously from his passenger seat. "I'm not going to keep us being together a secret. I want to show how proud I am of the fact that I have someone to be with. Even though it was a spur of the moment kind of thing…"

"Alright then. So you won't flip out if I sneak kisses and grope you in front of them, right?"

"Well," Rei blushed as he looked out the window. "I'll try not to."

Within minutes the pair reached the house, Kai hauling the bags from the car to the house to set them just inside the door while Rei carried them from there to the kitchen. Once all the bags were in, they began sorting through the bags and putting items where they belonged.

Kai had since finished with the cold and frozen foods, watching as Rei finished his last bag of dry goods, admiring his shirt riding up his sides as he stood on tip toes to put things on the high neglected shelves. And no sooner than Rei was flat footed again and closing the cabinet door, Kai was standing behind him with both arms wrapped around his waist, nuzzling his ear.

"I don't understand why it feels so natural," Rei murmured as he placed his hands gently atop Kai's, gently swaying with the teen behind him, a genuine smile gracing his lips.

"If it feels natural, then don't question it; just go with it," Kai whispered as he slowly turned the younger teen around to face him. He gently brushed some of the wild raven bangs behind the neko-jin's ear before gently caressing his now exposed cheek while he leaned down to meet his lips with Rei's.

'Don't question it,' Rei thought to himself as he stood up slightly on his tip toes, wrapping his arms around Kai's neck as the kiss deepened.

Once they parted, they smiled at each other before Rei stated simply, "We're not having sex while they're here."

Kai was totally off guard for that one.

"I don't mind the kissing and groping and what ever else, but we're not having sex while they're here."

"How about tonight then?" Kai smirked, eyebrow arched seductively.

"Nice try," Rei smiled as he maneuvered his way around the bluenette to finish putting away the last couple things.

"You're just going to straight up deprive me and we don't even know how long they're gonna be here!" Kai wailed.

"That's right," Rei replied matter of factly.

"Can I at least get a blow job?"

At this, Rei's face turned a beautiful tomato red as he continued with his chore.

"You're persistent, aren't you? We haven't even been a couple for 24 hours yet and you're already begging for sex! If I didn't know any better, you've been deprived for a while and you only wanted to get with me so you could get in my pants!"

"If I were that deprived, I would've raped you a long time ago," he again smirked as he began the task of folding up the paper bags.

Rei simply ignored him as he leaned against the sink, closing his eyes as he listened to the wind chimes just outside the open window. "It's amazing how many of them there are and the beautiful notes they play all at the same time…"

"Oh, great. You're already turning back into the mother," Kai said with a facepalm.

Rei simply chuckled as he pushed himself off the sink, tucking the pile of folded bags beneath the sink before heading towards the living room.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I have to wash the bed clothes," the neko-jin shrugged as he rounded a corner to the hall.

A few minutes later, Rei returned with a pile of sheets and two comforters in his arms before setting them atop the dryer inside the little closet in their kitchen while he adjusted the washer for the load.

"I was right. You're kicking into cleaning mode…"

"Shut up!" Kai heard faintly as Rei began dropping and moving the bed clothes around in the wash basin before pulling out the knob and closing the lid. "I just don't have anything else to do at the moment. And it's needed to be done for a while now."

"Protest all you like," Kai replied as he began fishing around in the fridge. "What are you making for dinner?"

"Now you're making me turn into the mom. I don't know, what sounds good?"

Despite the fact that it hadn't been more than an hour since they had gone shopping and restocked, Kai still wasn't sure of everything that they had to eat.

"Can we just order pizza tonight or something? I'm hungry now."

Rei laughed as he pushed the fridge door shut that Kai was meaninglessly holding open. "You're wasting electricity, and yeah, we can order out tonight."

Within seconds, Kai was wandering around the house with the phone held to one ear, pacing between the kitchen and living room while he ordered.

"Now, what can we do to pass the time until the pizza gets here?" the Russian purred as he led Rei to the living room and stood them before the couch. Kai then sat down, pulling Rei to his lap, stroking his back with one hand while cupping Rei's face with the other.

* * *

Reviews, candy, and comments are worshiped! 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade; I'm simply using the characters for my and my muse's entertainment.

Mother, Dear by Yaoi Girl

They simply sat there for a few moments, staring contentedly into the other's eyes, Rei smiling with a slight blush while Kai stroked Rei's cheek, occasionally curling some of the raven bangs around a finger.

"Do you have any idea how long I've hoped for a moment like this?" Kai whispered as he rested their foreheads together.

"Do you know how long I've waited for the day that you weren't an arrogant prick?" Rei then teased.

"I'm being serious, Rei," the Russian protested as he laid a gentle kiss to the end of the neko-jin's nose.

"I'm sorry. But I'm kinda serious. I know you must've acted at least a little more mature and adult like with your previous partners. I'm jealous that I didn't get to see that side of you first."

"Technically, you are the first. I treated everyone like my playthings. Even the one that cheated on me. So I guess I deserved the heartache. She lasted the longest of my toys."

"Treat me like that and see what happens!" Rei hissed somewhat, his eyes alight with hint of a threat.

Kai chuckled. "Yes, I know you're a feisty kitten."

Rei then smiled triumphantly. He knew Kai wouldn't treat him any different that he had all these years. Hell, he had been the one to break down a majority of Kai's barriers to what they are today. He was surprised that Kai even had any lovers to begin with. Rei couldn't understand that he wasn't the only one who could deal with Kai's arrogance, either that or the Russian was just that good in bed. Or the possibility of the millions of dollars tucked away safely in bank accounts…

Kai simply sat and watched as Rei mulled over his thoughts, finally getting bored of those amber eyes not looking at him.

So he launched Rei onto the couch and straddled his waist, grinning. "I'm feeling attention deprived."

"Then you better do something about it. You're not the only one that feels that way, you know?" Rei said as he leaned up slightly, wrapping his arms around Kai's neck and pulling him down somewhat as he then leaned fully back down against the cushions again.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe so," Rei smiled as Kai's face inched towards his.

However, instead of going after Rei's lips, he aimed slightly lower, deciding to take in the taste of the raven haired beauty's neck.

Rei smiled, reveling in the sensations that shot through his body from the light kisses and licks, never having experienced this before.

While his mouth was occupied with Rei's neck, he slowly inched his fingers up Rei's shirt, gently caressing the slightly tanned skin beneath the layer of cloth up to one of the teen's nipples, which he then began to gently roll between his fingers before tracing a lazy circular pattern around it. All the while he grinned against Rei's neck as the boy squirmed beneath him.

"You can tease all you like. You're still not getting any."

"We'll see about that," Kai smirked as he finally lifted his head up and planted his lips fully on Rei's parted ones.

No sooner than the bluenette's tongue touched his own, a furious blush broke out across Rei's cheeks. All these feelings and sensations were wonderful. He never had a lover that went this far with him. Hell, the farthest he had gotten was giving a girl a peck on the cheek. He had never gotten to a third date with any of them either…Kind of sad really.

Kai was great, that's all Rei could think at that moment as one hand traced down his torso while the other gently trailed over the swollen area of his jeans.

"Somebody's happy," Kai said as he backed away just a little, stroking Rei every so torturously, his grin widening as the neko-jin slightly arched into the touch.

Without warning, Rei sat bolt upright, crushing his lips against a stunned Kai's. "It's your fault," he panted. "No one's ever made me feel like this before."

"Then I get to teach you everything I know," Kai said almost too happily as his grip tightened ever so gently around the growing arousal.

"How many times do I have to tell…nngh!" Rei cut off, tossing his head back as Kai deftly reached down into his boxers, wrapping his fingers around Rei and pumping so slowly it would drive anyone insane if it went on for more than two minutes. But he relented after just a few times, squeezing a bit more as he picked up the pace, rather enjoying the noises his kitten was making.

The raven haired teen was so damn close, yet he wanted more, craved more, glared darkly as something very important in his boxers left his manhood…And just was exactly was that ringing noise?

"About time," Kai smiled as stood, acting as though he had been simply watching television only moments before as he headed for the door with a wad of cash in his hand.

"You are such a dirty son of a bitch!" Rei hissed through his panting before Kai opened the front door.

"You're the one that said no sex," Kai shrugged as though uninterested as he carried his nice hot boxes of food into the kitchen after paying the delivery guy and shutting the front door, however, his facial expression belied his tone.

He would get his pay backs! Rei would make sure of that.

"You gonna come eat with me or what?"

"I have to go to the bathroom first," Rei spat as he walked past the kitchen entryway on his way down the hall.

Again the Russian shrugged as he opened the pizza box and grabbed a slice, a satisfactory grin plastered across his face.

Kai was gonna pay _dearly_.

Once Rei had relieved himself, he ventured into the kitchen in a slightly better mood as he plopped down into the chair across from Kai, turning the box to himself and grabbing a slice.

"Feel better?" Kai offered with a smirk, devouring his pizza.

"No thanks to you," Rei replied bitterly as he picked the pepperoni off his slice, eating it before the rest of the pizza.

"Your house, your rules, right?" the bluenette then went on.

"Don't be starting stuff that you can't finish yourself!" Rei then retorted. "Rules or no rules, it's called a fair game."

"Now I couldn't very well have you naked and writhing for me in front of a delivery guy. We might've scarred him for life if we did!" Kai smiled cheekily.

"You could've not started at all, then that wouldn't have had to happen."

"True, but it's so much more fun for me this way."

"Hmph," Rei simply snorted as they finished their meal in silence. Rei, however, was trying to formulate a revenge plan.

* * *

The rest of the evening went on pretty uneventfully, seeing as the neko-jin was still bitter towards Kai anyhow. So the Russian merely finished moving his belongs from one room to another while Rei lie on his bed reading a magazine of some sort. 

"What time are they supposed to be in tomorrow?" Kai inquired as he hauled another load of clothes into the room a few minutes later.

"Sometime around 10 a.m. I think. Max said they'd call before they got on the plane. When I talked to him a little bit ago, he said they were having some storms that way, so he wasn't sure if they were going to be leaving on time or not," Rei replied as he then flipped the page, studying some pictures before turning to skim through the articles.

Once Kai had finished putting his clothes in the dresser, he sat on the bed, wrapping his arms around Rei's shoulders while both rubbing his cheek against his raven silkiness and also skimming the articles.

"I love your hair."

"I'm sure you do," came the monotonous reply.

"What's that tone for? I mean it!"

"And so has every other guy that's hit on me before."

Kai then abruptly snatched the offending magazine away from Rei's grasp and tossed it across the room, all the while staring into amber orbs, albeit a bit more angered now that his reading material was gone.

"I was jealous," the Russian shrugged with a smirk.

"Uh-huh," was the sarcastic response as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And the only reason you want to be with me is because I have long hair and I remind you of a woman."

At this, Kai's expression darkened a little. "Is that what you really think?"

"I think that about every guy that looks my way."

"Well, I'm not every guy. I'm your _lover_. Hell, a lot of girls can't even manage there hair half as well as you do! You should be honored to have such beautiful hair!"

"Which brings me right back to where we started."

Kai groaned. "Why do you have to be so stubborn? Did I rub off on you that much?"

"You didn't rub off on me enough earlier," Rei then somewhat glowered.

Smirking, Kai pressed his lips to Rei's. "I'm sorry. Would you like me to continue now that we're in the confines of the room?"

"I'm not in the mood now," the neko-jin shrugged as he turned his face away from Kai's.

"That's an easy fix."

"Kai, you're making me uncomfortable."

The Russian's eyebrows furrowed and he slowly released Rei. "I'm not with you just for sex, so you know. Or your hair. I just want to make you feel good for a change, to loosen up. You go through the same routine day in and day out that you're stressing yourself out. Sorry that I made you feel uncomfortable," he said before crawling off the bed and leaving the room.

For once, out of a few times that Rei could ever recall, Kai was dead serious, and all he could do was sit on his bed and pout.

* * *

Some time later in the night to early morning hours, the Russian came trudging down the hall feeling exhausted and guilty. He never meant to push Rei so much, adding on to his stress. It had always come naturally to him that he put his wants and needs before others. No wonder he was always trampled on by his ex's. 

He stood in the doorway, hand pressed against the frame as he leaned the side of his body against it as well, staring down at the sleeping neko-jin who had left the bedroom light on.

'Maybe I should just sleep in my room tonight and make up with him tomorrow,' he mused, but just seeing Rei looking so vulnerable on top of the clean bedclothes was making his heart ache.

He flicked off the light switch and gently closed the door behind him, tugging his T-shirt over his head soon after and tossing it to a corner before unfastening and pulling off his faded jeans.

He stood there, staring down at Rei again as the moon light played off his face and hair, wondering how he was going to cover him up without waking him. But he couldn't think of a way, so he simply laid down on his side and wrapped his arms around Rei as he pressed his chest and legs against the sleeping one's backside.

Rei's eyelids fluttered momentarily and his hands twitched, but he didn't wake. Instead he mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over to face Kai, nuzzling his cheek to Kai's chest.

'Rei's not like me; he's not a 24 hour sex machine,' he thought with a stifled sigh. 'He just wants someone to be there for him, someone to love him for whom he is. And I'm going to have to adjust to that if I'm going to keep him.'

* * *

"Make it stop…" Rei whined many hours later, still wrapped tightly in Kai's embrace and asleep, as was the bluenette. "Kai…"

The Russian groaned as he was then in a semi-sleep state, trying to focus his eyes on the clock on the other side of the bed.

'It can't be that late already,' Kai thought as he laid his head fully back down on the pillow, maneuvering his head so that his chin was atop Rei's head.

But the insistent doorbell belied him.

"Kai…" Rei again groaned, his eyelids crinkling against the noise, fighting to stay asleep and comfortable.

With a defeated sigh, the Russian pried himself away from the younger teen and stood, pulling on a pair of sweats before heading to the front door, only to find Takao's face peering in a window just beside the door while Max frantically pushed the doorbell.

"I thought you were supposed to call," Kai inquired rather grumpily as he flung the door open and walked back into the living room.

"I did, several times in fact," Max protested. "And good morning to you, too!"

"Sorry, rough night," Kai yawned as he then pulled the bedroom door shut so they wouldn't wake Rei. "And neither of us heard the phone ring."

"Knowing Rei, he put it on silent or vibrate on accident," the blonde shrugged as he lugged a huge suitcase in behind him.

"Did you rip his vocal chords out or something," Kai then asked as he noted how quiet Takao was being for a change.

"Strep throat. Go figure," the blonde smiled.

"Only he could get that during the middle of summer."

"Well, we were up in some snowy areas in the last tournament," Max then said as the unvocal one followed him in with a duffel bag slung over one shoulder and suitcase in hand.

"Oh, well, at least it'll be nice and quiet for a few days," Kai then smirked at the glaring Takao. "Your guys' room is here. Help yourself to whatever, just try to keep it down so you don't wake Rei."

Both nodded. "We really appreciate you guys letting us crash here for a while."

"I didn't have much of a say in it," Kai protested. "I was fine with you coming, but him, tch. But since he'll be quiet for a bit, I guess it won't be so bad."

On the way past the old bluenette, Takao gave Kai a good kick to the shins before grinning at him and shutting and locking the bedroom door.

'He kicks like a girl,' Kai mused as he shook his head, crossing the hall and stepping into his room. 'Good, he's still asleep.'

Crossing the room to Rei's side, he picked up the teens cell phone only to find the message '4 missed calls'. And it was indeed on silent. With a shrug, he set the phone back on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed, turning to lean over Rei.

"They're here," he whispered in his ear before laying a slow, gentle kiss to his neck seconds later.

* * *

Reviews will make for a speedier next chapter, as will candy! 


End file.
